Oil pans in motor vehicles are enclosed receptacles which holds and collects oil for a motorized engine. During operation, oil distributed throughout the engine to lubricate moving parts of the engine, and when the engine is off, some of the oil flows into the oil pan, typically located at the bottom of the engine.
Factory oil pans—those which are initially installed on a vehicle at the factory—generally have an adapter for receiving a dipstick. The adapters hold a dipstick in the oil pan so that a user can pull the dipstick and read the oil level. The adapters are fit into a hole in the oil pan, but are poorly designed. A gasket and locknut bind the factory adapter to the oil pan, and when one of the gasket or locknut wears out, part of the adapter can fall into the oil pan. Removing the part requires removing the oil pan, which often also requires removing the engine. This is obviously a very time-consuming and expensive process, especially given the relative expense of replacing the adapter itself. When the oil pan has been removed, the hole can be accessed from both outside of and inside of the oil pan, and can be fitted with a new adapter. Often times, the new adapter has the same shortcomings as the factory adapter; when it wears out, the oil pan must again be removed. An improved dipstick adapter for application to an oil pan is needed.